Katsucon 2016 Convention Report

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Katsucon 2016 Convention Report

Another year, another Katsucon anime convention.  It's back and it's bigger and better than ever.  Except, this year will forever be remembered for the Fire Alarm Evacuation that upended the festivities and leaving people stranded in sub-freezing and windy weather.  It wasn't all bad though and many positive things happened to make this a memorable experience.  If Otakon was able to survive the Fire of 2010, then I'm sure that Katsucon will survive the Freezing Fire of 2016.

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AniMore 2016 Convention Report

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AniMore 2016 Convention Report

The first ever AniMore anime convention was held during the weekend of January 22-24, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland.  AniMore is one of several conventions held by Black Materia Inc. and some had looked to it to fill the anime void that Otakon will leave behind once it moves to DC.  All first time cons have their growing pains, but in the case of AniMore some jerk named Jonas decided to ruin the party by dumping 2-3 feet of snow causing travel complications and preventing many attendees, vendors, and panelists from showing up and have caused people to dub this con as BlizziMore or BlizzardCon.  Still, for the small amount of people that braved the storm and bunker-ed down in their hotel rooms there was still enjoyment and merrymaking to be had.

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Anime USA 2015 Convention Report

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Anime USA 2015 Convention Report

This past Halloween weekend I attended the Anime USA 2015 anime convention held in Washington, DC from October 30 through November 1, 2015.  The long-running convention continues to straddle between small and midsize con status and yet somehow they always seem to manage to invite a stellar roster of English Voice Actors from the industry.  This year was no different as they somehow managed to invite the entire English cast from the show Cowboy Bebop.  This included Steve Blum (Spike Spiegel), Beau Billingslea (Jet Black), Wendee Lee (Faye Valentine), Melissa Fahn (Edward), and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Julia and ADR Director for the show).  In fact, they might as well just call this convention "Bebop Con 2015" instead of AUSA.  Other guests at the con included Colleen Clinkenbeard and Brandon Potter.

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Otakon 2015 Convention Report

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Otakon 2015 Convention Report

So another Otakon has come and gone.  The annual blockbuster anime convention to grace the shores of Baltimore, MD was held during July 24-26, 2015.  To start off, unofficial numbers report that attendance this year saw a drop to 28,000 attendees which is about 4-5K less than the previous year.  A drop in attendance is really no surprise, however.  Increasing frustration with the crowded convention center, last year's pre-reg line fiasco, a hike in membership fees, and the city-wide unrest that occurred in the spring probably helped to scare some people away.  Despite the setbacks, this year's Otakon was still a fun experience even if it wasn't Otakon's best showing.

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Fiesta Asia Street Fair 2015 Washington D.C.

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Fiesta Asia Street Fair 2015 Washington D.C.

I attended the Fiesta Asia Street Fair held in Washington D.C. for the fourth time on Saturday, May 16, 2015.  The annual street festival is sponsored by the Asia Heritage Foundation.  They usually hold a smaller festival in Silver Spring at the beginning of May and have the larger, main event in D.C. during the middle of May.  The festival consists of five stages with various performances that go on throughout the day.  There are also plenty of informational tents, ethnic food stalls, and vendors that lined streets.

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Sakura Sunday 2015 in Philadelphia, PA

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Sakura Sunday 2015 in Philadelphia, PA

Like my previous post on the National Cherry Blossom Festival, this one will be light on words but heavy on pictures.  On April 12th I drove up to Philadelphia to attend my first Sakura Sunday, Philly's cherry blossom festival.  This festival is much smaller in scale compared to D.C.'s, but it has a much more intimate feel to it (and you don't have to fight through huge crowds just to travel from one side to another).  Unfortunately their cherry blossoms haven't even begun to bloom yet so the area wasn't as pretty as it could have been.

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National Cherry Blossom Festival 2015

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National Cherry Blossom Festival 2015

This post will be light on words but heavy on pictures.  I went down to Washington, D.C. on Saturday, April 11, 2015 for the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival.  I got there early in the morning at around 05:30 AM to ensure that I get a good parking spot at Hains Point and to be able to take pictures of the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin during sunrise.  I ended up wasting a lot of time waiting at some spots to get some pictures so the golden hour came and went before I knew it, but it was still a good learning experience nonetheless.

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Zenkaikon 2015 Convention Report

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Zenkaikon 2015 Convention Report

I attended my second Zenkaikon anime convention which was held on March 27-29, 2015 at the Lancaster County Convention Center in downtown Lancaster, PA.  Zenkaikon is a small but growing con and certainly had a lot of things to do over the weekend.  There were also a number of great cosplay to be seen as well.  The con was run very well as most panels and events that I went to started and ended on time.  Overall they had a solid lineup of industry guests and panels and I certainly look forward to returning there next year.

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Matcha Time Cafe and Ramen Noodles

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Matcha Time Cafe and Ramen Noodles

Back in January I was introduced to this nice, niche Japanese-themed cafe up in the Historic Ellicott City area.  Matcha Time Cafe is tucked away in the back corner of Parking Lot D so it's not visible from Main Street, but it is definitely well worth the short trip off the beaten path.  In addition to good food and a variety of tea to choose from, they also have a neat little gift shop set up that you can browse (and purchase stuff!) as well.

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Katsucon 2015 Convention Report

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Katsucon 2015 Convention Report

Since it's been almost three weeks since Katsucon ended (and I have extreme short-term memory) this post will be short and sweet.  So I attended my fourth Katsucon anime convention from February 13-15, 2015 held at the National Harbor in Maryland.  As usually I had a great time but things didn't start off too smoothly.

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